Shenley Parish Council

The Council is funded from a precept on the Council Tax. It uses this money to fund a variety of programmes and projects:

• the Council’s Community Activities Group works with other volunteers to fund and organise social events for Shenley’s senior citizens (including periodic outings);
• the Council provides support to local community groups, including the cubs, Shenley Horticultural Society, Shenley Parish News, and other local groups
• the Council seeks to facilitate healthy outdoor activity by providing and maintaining the Harris Lane playing fields and children’s play areas and Green Street allotments, as well as by working with the Countryside Management Service to maintain Shenley’s public footpaths;
• the Council also strives to make itself more accountable to the residents of Shenley. To this end, it has introduced an opportunity for any resident to speak at the beginning of Parish Council meetings, a tri-annual newsletter (Shenley Village Matters) distributed to all households in the Parish in October, February and June.  The Parish Council is now active on both Facebook – Shenley Parish Council.
• the Council supports Shenley schools in the provision of swimming lessons for schoolchildren through grants to the Shenley Primary School and Clore Shalom school for coach transport.

In conjunction with councillors representing Shenley on the Hertsmere Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council, the Parish Council also represents Shenley’s interests to a wide variety of public bodies. For example, the Council is consulted by –

• Hertsmere Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council on matters such as council facilities, roads, and planning and development. The Council has developed a Parish Plan to inform its response to consultations, and help the Council respond to the needs of the community;
• the Police Authority on the crime reduction strategy of Hertfordshire Constabulary;
• the Countryside Management Authority on the conservation of public footpaths and woodland areas in Shenley;
• a wide variety of regulatory bodies on issues of interest to residents, ranging from Ofcom on the retention of public telephone boxes in the village, to Postwatch on access to postal services.